Twenty years after its original release, Christina Aguilera’s 2002 hit “Beautiful” has as much impact today as it did two decades ago. And to celebrate the song’s 20th anniversary, the superstar singer shared a powerful new video that speaks to how social media has “transformed our relationship with our bodies.”
The updated clip follows children as they try to live up to today’s unrealistic beauty standards, including a group of girls who livestream themselves while applying makeup, a boy lifting weights at the gym, and another group of girls, with markings on their faces in preparation for plastic surgery. Following the song’s second chorus, the youngsters break free, remove the drawn lines on their faces, and head into a green field to play together under a tree.
Following the credits, a bloody phone appears with the following message:
“In the last 20 years, since Stripped was first released, social media has transformed our relationship with our bodies, and in turn, our mental health.” “Research suggests that time spent on social networking sites is associated with body image issues, self-hard and disordered eating in children and teens. This needs to change.”
The original 2002 music video that featured a trans woman and two men kissing was celebrated by the LGBTQ community, but also faced controversy. At the time Aguilera told Rolling Stone in June that she “didn’t even really think about it as some taboo subject.”
“It was so natural to me to have people embrace who they are and feel empowered by not only their sexuality, but just themselves and who they are.” “And so I wanted to give an opportunity for a group of people to come together.” “Who knew that so many years later it would become this iconic moment where people give me stories about how it affected their lives and how they sort of came out to it?” “It’s a beautiful thing to be a part of people’s stories like that. And that’s honestly, what I look back within my career and am the most grateful for: more than any accolades or awards, it was being able to touch people and create those moments with them.”
In addition to the updated single video, Christina’s Stripped LP also turns 20 this week and she’s been teasing a 20th anniversary version of the album, adding “it wasn’t able to be done to my standard of quality.” “Stripped gave me the strength and freedom as an artist to tell my story the way I wanted.” “Thank you to all of my fighters around the world for amplifying that strength and giving me the space to continue to share myself in my truest forms, #20YearsOfStripped more to come.”
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Author: Al Denté
Photo: D.S.B – Christina Aguilera